DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(p)(3) for including a reference character which crosses a line of the drawing. See “43” in Figure 10.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The abstract is objected to for being directed to subject matter that is not a part of the claimed invention. Appropriate correction is required.
Applicant is reminded of the proper content of an abstract of the disclosure.
A patent abstract is a concise statement of the technical disclosure of the patent and should include that which is new in the art to which the invention pertains. The abstract should not refer to purported merits or speculative applications of the invention and should not compare the invention with the prior art.
If the patent is of a basic nature, the entire technical disclosure may be new in the art, and the abstract should be directed to the entire disclosure. If the patent is in the nature of an improvement in an old apparatus, process, product, or composition, the abstract should include the technical disclosure of the improvement. The abstract should also mention by way of example any preferred modifications or alternatives.
Where applicable, the abstract should include the following: (1) if a machine or apparatus, its organization and operation; (2) if an article, its method of making; (3) if a chemical compound, its identity and use; (4) if a mixture, its ingredients; (5) if a process, the steps.
Extensive mechanical and design details of an apparatus should not be included in the abstract. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph within the range of 50 to 150 words in length.
See MPEP § 608.01(b) for guidelines for the preparation of patent abstracts.
Claim Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because at line 3, “slot ,” should read --slot,--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by US 3,827,110 (Dzus).
Regarding claim 1, Dzus discloses an anti-disassembly device (20; see Figures 1-4) comprising:
a first part (29) comprising a first through hole (38);
a fixing element (23) affixed to the first part (via its attachment to 22; see Figure 3);
a bolt (22 & 25) movably disposed in the fixing element (see column 3, lines 50-57);
an elastic element (24) between the fixing element and the bolt (see Figures 3 and 4);
a second part (28) in contact with the first part, and comprising a second through hole (37); and
a nail (21) movably disposed in the first through hole and the second through hole (see column 3, lines 41-49), and the nail comprising a lock groove (36);
wherein when the anti-disassembly device is in a locked state, the nail is fastened to the first part and the second part, the bolt is in the lock groove to prevent the nail from rotating relative to the first part (see column 3, line 58, through column 4, line 11),
when the bolt is moved out of the lock groove, the nail is rotatable relative to the first part (see column 4, lines 36-41), and
when the nail is rotated to an unlocking position, the first part is separatable from the second part (see column 4, lines 12-23).
Regarding claim 2, Dzus discloses the fixing element (23) comprises a guide groove (47), the bolt (22 & 25) is movably disposed in the guide groove, and the guide groove restricts the bolt from moving in a movement direction (see column 3, lines 15-29).
Regarding claim 3, Dzus discloses the anti-disassembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bolt (22 & 25) comprises a central portion (22) and an arm (25) connected to the central portion (see Figure 3),
wherein when the anti-disassembly device is in the locked state, the arm is in the lock groove (36; see column 3, line 58, through column 4, line 11).
Regarding claim 4, Dzus discloses the fixing element (23) comprises a fixing portion (46) and a connection portion (47) connected to the fixing portion, the elastic element (24) abuts the fixing portion and the central portion (22), and the arm (25) is movably in contact with the connection portion (see column 3, lines 15-29).
Regarding claim 6, Dzus discloses the anti-disassembly device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bolt (22 & 25) further comprises a hook (see annotated Figure 1 below, where the circled portion provides a hook-like structure extending downward from portion 26) connected to the arm, the hook preventing the bolt away from the fixing element (see annotated Figure 1 below, where the hook-like structure prevents axial and radial movement of arm 25).
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Figure 1. Annotated Figure 3A of Dzus
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 7-15 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Regarding claim 5, Dzus discloses the anti-disassembly device as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of the central portion (22) and the fixing portion (46) is a hollow structure, and
when the anti-disassembly device is in the locked state, the central portion is in the fixing portion (see Figure 3).
However, Dzus fails to disclose the elastic element (50) is disposed in the central portion (22) and the fixing portion (46), and instead discloses the elastic element being disposed on an exterior surface of both the central portion and fixing portion (see Figure 3). One of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to modify the anti-disassembly device of Dzus such that the elastic element is disposed in the central portion and the fixing portion, as such a modification would render the device of Dzus inoperable as it would interfere with the connection of the fixing element (23), bolt (22 & 25), and nail (21) which are connected on an interior of the fixing element (see Figure 3).
Regarding claims 7-13, Dzus discloses the anti-disassembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nail (21) further comprises a body (33), and the body is in the first through hole (see Figure 3)
Dzus fails to disclose a buckle connected to the body (33), and the first part (29) further comprises a first restriction groove connected to the first through hole (38). Dzus therefore also fails to disclose the buckle is fastened to the first part when the anti-disassembly device is the locked state, and the buckle corresponds to the first restriction groove when the nail is rotated to the unlocking position, and the buckle extends through the first restriction groove when the nail is away from the first part in a movement direction.
While such buckle and restriction groove structures are known in the prior art (see Figures 2 and 3 at “35” and “22”, respectively, in US 2014/0306593 to Gong), one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to add such a buckle structure to the nail of Dzus. Such a modification would interfere or otherwise destroy the function of the bayonet-type groove (36) which serves to connect to the bolt (22) via the arm (25), and therefore also connect to the fixing element (23).
Regarding claims 14 and 15, Dzus discloses the anti-disassembly device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nail (21) further comprises a unlock hole (34), but fails to disclose an anti-demolition wall covering the unlock hole, and the bolt (22 & 25) is accessible to be pushed away from the lock groove (36) by a tool when the tool pierces the anti-demolition wall to access the unlock hole.
The prior art fails to fairly show or suggest a modification to Dzus such that an anti-demolition wall covers the unlock hole, and the bolt is accessible to be pushed away from the lock groove by a tool when the tool pierces the anti-demolition wall to access the unlock hole. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been motivated to make such a modification as such a modification would teach away from the intended structure of Dzus which allows the parts to be unlocked via the use of a screwdriver in a slot (34) formed in the head portion (32) of the nail (21). Further still, such a modification would involve extensive modifications to the nail of Dzus, such as the hollowing out of the interior of the nail in order to provide access for the claimed tool. This modification would structurally weaken the nail in ways not intended by Dzus. Even further, such a modification would teach away from the means of disconnection of the device of Dzus, which requires both a rotating and pushing force to move the arm (25) out of the bayonet-type lock groove (36) which is imparted on the device via the rotation of a tool in the slot (34) and the force of the elastic element (24).
Conclusion
The prior art set forth in the attached Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. The cited prior art is directed to anti-disassembly devices similar to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Josh Skroupa whose telephone number is (571)270-3220. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM ET.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber Anderson can be reached on (571)270-5281. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Josh Skroupa/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3678
April 8, 2026
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